Dr. James A. Sandfort

Dr. James A. Sandfort, of Ballwin, MO, passed away Sunday, May 18, 2025 at the age of 81. Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) took him far too early from the people who loved him and the things left on his to-do list.

Jim was a lifelong Lutheran whose faith inspired his life, guided his decisions, and permeated his relationships and daily interactions. His love, passion, and dedication went first and always to his family. He devoted his time and energy to public education, volunteering, and the outdoors.

Jim’s heritage goes back generations in St. Charles, MO. His many relatives near and far will miss him profoundly. The apple of his eye was his wife, soulmate, best friend, and constant companion, Mellanie (nee Shelkey); they met at St. Charles High, fell in love at University of Missouri, and lived a storybook marriage of 58 ½ years. Jim was a treasured son of the late Melvin & Edith (nee Bruns) Sandfort. With Mellanie, Jim leaves behind three sons: Mike (Eve Wang), Geoff (Amber Greves), and Tim Sandfort; and six grandchildren: Noah, Linnea, Wenkai, Madison, Clark, and Lydia. Mel & Edith’s other children, Jim’s siblings, also grieve his loss: Tom (the late Irma) Sandfort, Mary Roberts, Kathy (the late David) Gehrs, and George (Helen) Sandfort. Jim is preceded in death by his parents and infant daughters Rachel and Stephanie. He was a beloved and admired family member, friend, neighbor, coworker, and community leader to so many people.

Jim was a product and champion of America’s education system. He attended Immanuel Lutheran School and graduated from St. Charles High School. He did undergraduate study at University of Missouri-Columbia, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honors in History, and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. His post-graduate work was at Harvard University (Cambridge, MA), where he earned a Master of Arts in Teaching degree. Jim’s first assignment was at McClure High School (St. Louis, MO), where he taught History and Geopolitics. Administrators caught on early that Jim was gifted with vision and clarity; in his second year, he was appointed to a special district panel to advance instructional methods. He returned to the University of Missouri College of Education, where he was awarded a Doctor of Education (Ed.D) degree in 1971. Within a month, he began a methodical ascent through building and district leadership positions, moving his growing family to Kansas City so he could accept his first administrative appointment as Associate Principal at Shawnee Mission South (Overland Park, KS). One year later, at age 28, Jim became the youngest high school principal in Kansas history at Shawnee Mission East (Prairie Village, KS); he stayed for 14 years. In 1986, Jim returned to St. Louis and spent 5 years as Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction with the Parkway School District. And in 1991, he made a move that would define and fulfill his desire for excellence as a career educator: Jim became Superintendent of Schools at the Lindbergh School District. At the time, Parkway Superintendent Don Senti said of their district’s loss, “‘We are going to miss him a great deal.’ … ‘They got a good one at Lindbergh when they got Sandfort. He is a visionary and a pragmatist. He’s good at solving problems, listening to all sides, forging a coalition and moving ahead. I am optimistic about his tenure at Lindbergh.’ Senti said he knew Sandfort would become a superintendent someday.” (South County News Times, Mar 22-28, 1991, p3). Average district superintendent tenure is 6 years; always the consummate diplomat, Jim led Lindbergh for 17 years before retiring in 2008.

During his time at Lindbergh, Jim directed the district to new levels of academic excellence, and also focused it on a responsibility for character development beyond the classroom. He sequentially steered schools across the district to recognition as National Schools of Character; and in a crowning career achievement, Lindbergh was named a National District of Character the year Jim retired – the only district in America to receive such recognition that year (South County Times, June 6, 2008). When asked once about his leadership philosophy and longevity, he said simply, “We just did what was best for the kids and the taxpayers.”

Always humble, Jim would, of course, demand any recognition for his accomplishments be shared. Accordingly, the innumerable staff and support personnel at each of his career posts deserve the credit; they worked hard every day to implement his vision and strategy across classroom, curriculum, and community.

In retirement, Jim’s community involvement continued through Board roles at SSM Healthcare and Delta Dental, the Nurses for Newborns Foundation, the Wiegand Foundation, and the Open Space Council. He volunteered with the Missouri Retired Teachers Association and Lindbergh Retired Educators, Sierra Club, Health Works, and the Missouri Department of Conservation -- where he and Mellanie were each recognized for over 500 hours of service. With Mellanie, Jim obtained grants from Thrivent Financial to create conservation programming for seniors living at Mason Pointe (Town & Country, MO).

Until the week of his death, Jim had a couple vibrant social circles: “the gray hairs” and “the guys,” who met regularly at his favorite coffee shop to solve the world’s problems.

Jim was never still; he was always tinkering with, improving, thinking about, or reading something.

Perhaps to quiet his active mind, Jim spent a lot of time outdoors. At St. Charles High, he was an accomplished runner and co-captain of the varsity football team. Jim was involved in Boy Scouts throughout his life; he and all three sons achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. He developed a love of fishing while teaching his boys to bait hooks for sunfish at Southlake Park in Kansas City. Well into his final years, he and Mellanie fly fished for trout at his favorite bend in the Current River at Missouri’s Montauk State Park. He and Mellanie traveled the world, visiting Alaska, Ireland, China, Germany, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. But some of his favorite adventures were closer to home, on backroads and at parks and springs throughout Missouri. He and Mellanie enjoyed watching the seasons change while hiking many miles around Queeny Park.

Jim loved to work in the yard, and spent years with Mellanie building a garden recognized for diversity in native plant cultivation. Their yard received a Gold Certification from the Audubon Society’s Bring Conservation Home program, and is identified as a Monarch Waystation. Every year, they set out hundreds of plants as community donations.

Despite the public nature of his profession and volunteer work, Jim was a very private, quiet, and introspective man, of intense depth, who had a driving desire for excellence and attention to detail in everything he did.

Wherever he went, Jim had a presence about him. People describe a perceptible energy shift when he entered the room. He met people and always remembered their names and details about them. He sent many personal notes and cards. He listened well and always seemed clear-headed at solving problems.

Jim’s many hobbies and interests reflect his inquisitive, curious nature: he collected stamps and antique locks, made jewelry to donate to charity auctions, hand-tooled leather, carved wood, and hunted for buried treasure with his grandkids. He taught himself plumbing, electrical, and home and auto maintenance. He studied leadership in business, and in American and international history. He reviewed and organized several generations of Sandfort and Bruns family affairs. And he read voraciously about religion, personal finance, charitable giving, and in his final years: cancer.

Above all, Jim lived life his own way, according to his faith- and family-inspired values. He sought to make each day purposeful, meaningful, and responsive to others. He was a man of remarkable depth, strength, character, integrity, humility, kindness, and compassion who deeply impacted his family, community, and all who knew him.

Jim’s Celebration of Life will be at Baue Funeral Home -- Cave Springs on Saturday, July 12, 2:00-4:00pm. He will be interred privately at Immanuel Lutheran Cemetary in St. Charles, MO.

As much as Jim loved gardens and celebrated the beauty of flowers, he preferred they stay in the ground. Memorial donations can instead be made in his name to:

• The Lindbergh Schools Foundation -- Teacher Grant Fund
• Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (Manchester, MO) -- Family Need Fund